For decades, Kyoto has been the classic destination for both tourists and Japanese school trips. Students from across the country would make the journey to the ancient capital, walking through centuries-old temples, strolling the narrow lanes of Gion, and catching glimpses of geisha on their way to evening appointments. For students, the visit has long been seen as a rite of passage, helping them understand how modern Japan connects to its past.
But that tradition is now under threat. More schools, particularly in the Kanto region around Tokyo, are choosing to bypass Kyoto altogether. Teachers are complaining that their pupils are facing packed buses and subways, crowds at Kyoto’s iconic temples and shrines and extortionate price increases at hotels and restaurants. “Many schools in the Kanto region [around Tokyo] want their students to go to Kyoto, but there are more and more that are reporting problems,” said Michiyo Nakade, an official of the Japan School Trip Association, which arranges visits from across Japan. She explained that overtourism and rising costs had made it difficult to plan.
“Some places are so busy that the students cannot see everything, so they are very disappointed. It is very unfortunate because most Japanese parents went to Kyoto for their school trips when they were younger and they want their children to go to the same places,” she told This Week in Asia.
According to Kyoto city statistics, 750,000 Japanese pupils visited the city in 2024, down from 810,000 the previous year.
According to Ms Nakade, schools are now turning to alternative destinations, such as Nagasaki, Kanazawa in Ishikawa prefecture, and the Tohoku region of northern Japan. There, students are being encouraged to meet local people who survived the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster and see for themselves how communities there are rebuilding.
A 2024 study by the Kyoto city government found that 56.06 million people visited over the course of the year, the second highest after the record of 56.84 million foreign and domestic visitors in 2015. That record may very well be broken when the figure for 2025 is determined, particularly considering the fact that the Japan National Tourism Organisation reported this week that 3.4 million foreign tourists arrived in Japan in August – breaking the three million level for the first time. The JNTO said overall growth in inbound tourism was up 16.9% so far this year.
While increased visitor numbers may sound like a positive thing, they have actually had some serious negative consequences, according to Masaru Takayama, president of Kyoto-based Spirit of Japan Travel.
“In Kyoto, it is just getting worse and worse,” he said. “The hotels have all increased their prices – at least doubling in the last couple of years and often tripling – as they try to make some money back after losing so much during the coronavirus pandemic,” he said.
“But that has to be passed on to the schools, of course, and it’s becoming too expensive for many of them to come here.”
It appears to be foreign tourists who are causing a lot of the problems. In August, a foreign tourist was filmed doing pull-ups on a “torii” gate at Atago Shrine in nearby Ikeda City, while a video shared online showed a foreign man arguing with and pushing an elderly Japanese man who asked him to give up his priority seat on a train in Tokyo. Residents have also complained about littering and loud noise late into the evening, as well as foreign visitors trespassing onto people’s properties, despite signs in multiple languages. Local police have also received reports of visitors defecating on the street.
Japan is often cited as the world’s most friendly nation, with locals hospitable and ready to help tourists in need.
